


A Promise Kept

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Thursday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26522728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: AU. Blair is not a student but has been working for Stephen Ellison. And he has made a promise to Stephen that lets him meet Jim.
Relationships: Jim Ellison & Blair Sandburg
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	A Promise Kept

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Sentinel Thursday prompt 'promise'

A Promise Kept

by Bluewolf

It was a long way from Denver to Cascade. Roughly 1400 miles by road. Blair reckoned that it would take two to three days.

He could have chosen to fly, but he was far from happy travelling by air, although he had had to do so quite often in the years he had been assistant to Stephen Ellison. But now Stephen was dead. Blair had one last job to do for the man who had been close friend as well as employer.

He could have remained with the firm, which now belonged solely to Stephen's wife - widow. But she had never really appreciated what Blair had done for the company and she bitterly resented both Blair and this last task that her husband had entrusted to his assistant. And rather than take the serious downgrade in responsibility that Sandra would have given him, reducing him (he knew) to little more than office gopher, Blair had chosen to hand in his notice. And so, a month after Stephen's death, he was free to carry out his friend's last wish.

His years working with Stephen had been happy ones, and he could only hope that his next job would be as satisfying; as congenial.

He had been paid extremely well, and - being a man of simple tastes - had saved a lot of his salary, adding that to the money he had inherited from his grandparents. He knew he would never need to work again, though a life of leisure wouldn't be his preference - much though it was one that suited his footloose mother, who had also inherited a sizeable sum from her parents.

***

Blair had driven steadily for two days, and was now driving along the edge of Cascade National Forest.

He pulled into a small parking area, reached for his backpack and took out of it a sandwich he had bought earlier in the day. As he ate, he looked around. The words of a poem he had learned at school seemed so appropriate...

_The woods are lovely, dark, and deep..._

and he would have been happy to stop at this point and spend time here;

_But I have promises to keep,_

_And miles to go before I sleep,_

_And miles to go before I sleep._

Well, _a_ promise. And miles? Possibly a hundred? Two more hours, give or take? Then he had a house to find, though at need he could employ a cab driver to lead him to it.

It would be fairly late before he reached Cascade - possibly 9 pm - but it was unlikely that Stephen's brother would be in bed by then. It had to be the brother, unfortunately - Stephen's father William had died the year before.

It was possible that the brother - who was now apparently a detective with Cascade PD - might refuse to honor Stephen's last request - according to Stephen, his brother had joined the army when he was eighteen and had refused any contact with his father or brother since then, though their father had somehow managed to follow his older son's career. Well, if James Ellison did refuse, Blair was perfectly capable of employing a lawyer to insist that Stephen's last request was fulfilled. He had, after all, promised Stephen; and if it was the last thing he did, he would see to it that his friend got the last thing he had asked for.

***

He had studied the road map of Cascade carefully before he left Denver, and was glad to discover that he had no problem finding Prospect Avenue and No. 852. There was even a parking area in front of it.

Blair hung his backpack from one shoulder and went into the building. Inside, he stared with some disbelief at the elevator. From the outside he had estimated the building at three, possibly four stories high; James' apartment number was 307. And someone thought the building needed an elevator? He shook his head and headed up the stairs.

It was easy enough to find apartment 307. He paused at the door, took a deep breath and knocked.

It was only a few seconds before the door was opened. "If you're selling something - " the big man said, a subtle threat in his voice.

Blair shook his head. "Are you Detective Ellison?"

"Yes."

"My name is Blair Sandburg. I'm here - well, on behalf of your brother Stephen."

"So what does he want?" Ice would have been warmer than his tone.

Blair reached into his backpack and took a small box from it. "He wants his ashes buried in the Ellison family plot."

"His... " The big detective took a deep breath. Then - "Come in." He opened the door wider, and Blair went into an apartment that looked as homely as a hotel room that had been occupied for a day. Still standing, he turned to face Stephen's brother.

"So... " Ellison said. "What happened? He's - he was - two years younger than me."

"Cancer," Blair said quietly. "It was very sudden. One day he was fine, the next... he woke in agony, went straight to the doctor, who checked him and gave him - at most - a week. He called Colin Barton, his lawyer - I was there too - and got Colin to arrange his funeral - well, cremation - and asked me to bring his ashes here and get them buried here. I promised him I would. He died five days later."

"I see. And what were you to him?"

"His assistant. He... he trusted me to do what he wanted more than he did Sandra - "

"Sandra?"

"His wife. She owns the business now... and I'm the last person she wants working there. We never liked each other. I've left Colin seeing to selling my house; now that I'm here I'll probably stay in Cascade."

"Where are you staying?"

Blair gave a wry half laugh. "I don't know yet - can you recommend a hotel? Maybe two or three star? I'm not short of cash, but four and five star cost the earth and I really don't think they're worth what they charge. And I'll need to stay for a week or two till I find an apartment here."

Ellison looked at him for a moment. "You can stay here for a few days till you sort something out," he said. "It's a very small room, the bed is just a futon, but I've been assured it's comfortable. Meanwhile - " he reached out - "I think Stephen will rest happier over here than in your bag, however he felt about travelling in it."

Blair handed over the box containing Stephen's ashes and Ellison put it carefully on a shelf that held a few books.

"I'll phone my boss first thing and get time off so that I can see about getting Stevie buried beside our parents. I'll expect you to join me. If you cared enough about him to bring his ashes here, I imagine you'll want to be there when he's buried."

Blair nodded. "We were good friends as well as work associates," he said.

***

The box with Stephen's ashes was buried in the family plot a few days later with Blair and Jim (as he insisted Blair call him) the only mourners.

In those few days, the two men had become surprisingly friendly, especially after the evening, four days into Blair's stay with Jim, when Blair came home from exploring the shops in Cascade's Wilkensen Towers to find Jim sitting on one of his two couches with a blank look on his face.

_"Jim?" Blair asked. When there was no response, Blair crossed to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jim? What's wrong?" Some instinct, a faint memory from years previously, impelled Blair to rub his hand down the bigger man's arm, and after a few seconds, Jim jumped, and looked at Blair._

_"Oh, God, not again!" Jim muttered._

_"What was wrong?" Blair asked quietly. When Jim didn't answer immediately, Blair asked again, "What happened 'again'?"_

_"I... " Jim looked at his guest and took a deep breath. "I'm a... a freak."_

_Blair frowned slightly. "How?"_

_"I hear voices when there's nobody here; see things so far away it's impossible... My father said I was a freak, that no normal person... " He shook his head. "I try to be careful but sometimes... like tonight... I... I heard something, couldn't quite make out what it was, concentrated to see if I could hear it better... I know I shouldn't but sometimes I can't help it - and then I lose track of time... "_

_"Hear things, see things... Jim, years ago... I'd forgotten the incident till now, but... I travelled a lot with my mother when I was young, and when I was about fourteen we met a man, a member of a small tribe, who could see and hear things nobody else could. He could lead the men to game when they hunted, knew if the weather was changing. They called him a watchman. He had a friend who always travelled with him, and one day I saw him freeze, and how his friend called him back. Jim, I think you have the same abilities as that tribesman. I think you're a watchman."_

_"So what do I do about it?"_

_"You be careful, but as long as I'm here, I'd guess I can help you."_

They spoke about it for a while, then after Stephen's ashes were buried and Jim went back to work, Blair went with him, to ask for a ninety day pass riding with Jim to observe him, on the pretext of writing a book about a detective.

***

Blair never did bother finding a house or apartment of his own; he continued living with Jim. He proved to have an insight into detective work that let him offer suggestions that were valuable in solving crimes, not just for Jim but for the other detectives Jim worked with. His ninety day pass was extended; and extended. And with Blair at his side Jim had very little difficulty managing his senses.

Blair did write a detective novel, basing it in the fictional city of Ravensburg - certainly there was a real town of that name in Germany, but not in central USA, and when it sold well, began a second novel about the exploits of Detective Halley and his partner Detective Usher.

It was a completely different life for Blair than the one he had lived working with Stephen; one that he owed to the promise he had made to Stephen. He had been happy enough working with Stephen, but now that he was working with Stephen's brother - he was totally, utterly content.


End file.
